Finding the Positive for June 16 – 18

Two Bugs Tarot's Page of Swords, Yoga Tarot's Eight of Pentacles, and Tarot Emblemata Chromata's King of Swords

June 16 – Mental Health Card of the Day

Today’s meditation was skipped (because I fell asleep in the middle of it).

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The @GlitterbyInk #JuneSun25 Challenge
Summer Sunlight Prompt for June  : Play

Today’s draw is the Page of Swords, which is traditionally a representation of a receptive omega energy, personality, or person in the area of one’s thoughts, intellect, logic, ambitions, and communication. This often translates into themes that have to do with learning new ways to communicate with others, beginning new educational pursuits, exploring new ideas. and seeking to sate one’s curiosity.

OOph! Okay, so I’m just sayin’… but things are going to get awfully messy in a hurry if that ostrich figures out how to pick up that sword.

That’s the point, though, isn’t it?  Play is messy, and learning is a type of play. Learning is messy. Hell, even Life is messy.

When we set our sights on something new, there’s a high potential that we’re going to create change. In our minds. In our lives. Even, very possibly, beyond that into the lives of others.  And, like play? With change comes a certain level of chaos and mess.

The message in today’s card and prompt combo is that it’s all part of the process of growth and learning, so don’t be afraid of the mess. It’s temporary. Just have fun, and take a bit of care to not injure yourself or others in the process. (You know, unlike that ostrich and his sword.)

DECK USED: TWO BUGS TAROT

June 17 – Mental Health Card of the Day

Today’s meditation was eleven minutes long, and one of the #DailyCalm sessions in the @Calm app. Learning how to challenge and soften your judgements of yourself and others.

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The @GlitterbyInk #JuneSun25 Challenge
Summer Sunlight Prompt for June  : Summer

Today’s draw is the Eight of Pentacles, which is traditionally a representation of hard work, expertise through practice, honing a skill, quality craftsmanship, handicrafts, and manifestations through skill and hard work. The card is often the embodiment of the “practice makes perfect” adage.

That adage is the thing, yeah? If you want to get better at something, persistence is the key.It means doing it horribly at first. Then doing it badly. Then doing it “sorta okay”.  It means going through the stages and steps of growth that eventually lead to being skilled at it.

As someone who spends a good deal of their time teaching others a skill, it sort of drives me nuts how many people come in looking for shortcuts, or some way to get around the actual -process- of building a new skill for themselves. They want to be good at it now, and if they can’t then they want a way to either shortcut it, or outright fake it.

To be fair?  There have been (and still are) things in life that I wish I could shortcut on too. So I get it. Learning a skill, though, is not a pursuit in instant gratification.

Today’s message is a reminder that there are no shortcuts in becoming skilled at something. It takes patience, practice, and persistence to get there. Just because you are impatient won’t change this.

DECK USED: YOGA TAROT

June 18 – Mental Health Card of the Day

Today’s meditation was skipped.

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The @GlitterbyInk #JuneSun25 Challenge
Summer Sunlight Prompt for June  : Warmth

Today’s draw is the King of Swords, which is traditionally a representation of a projective “alpha” energy, personality, or person in the area of one’s thoughts, intellect, education, ambitions, and communication. This often translates into themes that have to do with someone that has a way with words and is able to use those skills to lead others to their way of thinking, as well as those that are in authority on intellectual topics such as professors, doctors, etc.

Although it’s said that the pen is mightier than the sword, and I tend to agree in some cases… there are more and more times of late that I wonder if it’s really still the case.

Nuances in writing once easily interpreted seem to be missed more often, ignored and responded to with impersonal form letters or cursory replies rather than a true connection and understanding. While truly listening to others seems to have taken a decline, the respect and “listening” given to the written word seems to have fallen off some remote cliff.

While I don’t claim to be Shakespeare or some kind of great wordsmith, writing is in fact my primary way of communicating with others. And so I ask… Is it too much to ask that when I am writing to someone that they actually take a moment to read what has been written, instead of skimming the highlights and replying cursorarily (yes, I did just make up a word) or with some for letter that (invariably) doesn’t even apply to what I’ve written? And if that is too much to ask, why is that the case?

I’m not saying that from time to time I’m not also guilty of this disregard. When I am overwhelmed or struggling, it can be difficult to read with “open ears” and empathy. It just seems to me that instead of becoming one of these things that happens now and then, I’m confronted with this issue far too often these days.

The message in today’s cards is about listening to others, whether in written word, or in conversation. It’s not enough to “hear” their words. That disregards the person behind them. True communication happens when we seek true understanding of what someone is trying to express. It makes them feel seen and heard, rather than disregarded. It creates a feeling of warmth, connection, and depth that often feels missing from interactions with others these days.

DECK USED: TAROT EMBLEMATA CHROMATA

Gideon’s Challenge – Silent Scream

Tulip PetalsSilent Scream

Why is it
I have to fight
to be heard
for even the
smallest
of things
while those
louder
and brasher
get noticed
and helped
with ease?

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

🎨 Weekly Creativity Prompt – Creative Writing

Prompt: “Pull (at least) three random cards from your deck and use them to tell us a story about a real or fictional awkward moment involving food.”

Creative Writing with the Oregon County Fair Tarot

The Hermit

Mrs Inglemore had a hate on for the kids in the neighborhood. Their laughter and playful voices always floating in through her window, the way they raced up and down the street on their bikes. The sound of balls bouncing, bikes being dropped onto grass or sidewalk, skateboards and rollerskates on pavement. She’d complained to their parents many times.

But most of all, and what started it all? Those greedy little bastards stole her pies!

Not every time. No, they were too sneaky for that. Sometimes when she put them on the sill to cool, they came back from the experience untouched. And they -had- to go on the sill, mind you. The fridge was too cold and made them somehow both soggy and dried out at the same time. The kitchen was too warm. After all, she’d just finished baking.

It had to be the sill.

Seven of Swords

The first time? Some little piggy child ate HALF the pie, right out of the pie pan before they unbalanced the thing and sent it toppling into the kitchen. Rhubarb and strawberries simply everywhere. Such a mess!

The next time was a few pies later on the next week, and they tipped the entire thing over to splat on the ground outside the window. The entire pie ruined, not to mention her begonias! Little sneaky bastards.

Seven of Wands

This time? She’s going to catch them in the act, though, and then they’re going to get reported not just to their parents, but the police too! It’s stealing, after all.  So, she’d made her pie and set it on the windowsill every day this week, waiting each time for the children to show themselves. Hiding just out of sight on the other side of the counter, each time she waited.

And here they were! They’d come! She heard their sneaky movements as she crouched and waited, and when she heard the scrape of her baking pan on the sill? She popped up into view with a loud, “AH HA! I KNEW IT WAS YOU BILLY NASSON!”

The Tower

Only to be faced with a white tailed deer as surprised as she was! As she screamed, the deer reared back, cracking its head on the window’s edge and sending it dropping to smash down and shatter. The pie simultaneously going flying to splat over top of Mrs Inglemore’s head where she landed on her butt on the floor.

Five of Swords

And, a moment later when she came to from her faint?

There was Billy Nasson, drawn by the commotion and peeking in through the window at her along with his friends.

“Lovely new hat, Mrs Inglemore,” he exclaimed, before they all ran off to play.

DECK USED: OREGON COUNTY FAIR TAROT

Gideon’s Challenge – The Departure

Sweeping CloudsThe Departure 

Where
are you going
in such a hurry
that you leave
a trail
of dust
in your wake
as others
left behind
settle in
to watch
the show
without you

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

Gideon’s Challenge – Hidden Sweetness

CloverHidden Sweetness

Sweet like honey
just a little taste
as tiny flowers
are pulled
from flower heads
for one bit
of sweetness
at a time
as we lie
in the grass
daydreaming
together

Photo © ZenStatePhotography

Nothing But Footprints

Today’s meditation was skipped.

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TERRA: Botanical Tarot's Eight of CupsThe @GlitterbyInk #JuneSun25 Challenge
Summer Sunlight Prompt for June 15 : Nature

Today’s draw is the Eight of Cups, which is traditionally a representation of withdrawal, abandonment, or letting go of things, situations, or people in your life that are just not working out for you emotionally.

This card and prompt combination reminds me of a quote by the famous conservationist John Muir that says, “Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints, kill nothing but time.”

It feels like a reminder that just because we may feel like we are walking away with nothing doesn’t mean that’s necessarily the case. Sometimes our perspectives are colored by whatever it is that we are leaving behind, and at other times colored by where we are heading next.

These perspectives can make leaving where we are a bittersweet and even at times painful experience.

The message for today encourages us to consider what we truly take away from the experiences we’ve had, instead of relying entirely on our emotional perspectives (and emotional baggage) to write the narrative for us.

DECK USED:  TERRA BOTANICAL TAROT

#DiscordTarotholicsJun2025 Challenge
Prompt for June 15th
: Do Spread 3

Uncertainty Cartomancy Reading with the Quack Deck

What does uncertainty feel like to you?

Four of Spades – Uncertainty causes you to want to retreat from the world and hide away. You seek stability in these times because it feels like the world becomes unstable beneath your feet. As you consider other people to be quite unpredictable, they cannot usually provide that sense of stability for you, and thus you retreat from them in these moments of uncertainty. The exception to this is that you do find stability in your partner, but old habits have a tendency to die hard.

How do times of uncertainty impact your  physical body?

Five of Clubs – Physically, uncertainty creates a lot of conflict for you internally, which then transforms into anxiety. You then find yourself flinching more readily and hesitating more often, instead of moving forward with confidence.

How do times of uncertainty impact your physical reality?

Ace of Clubs – Times of uncertainty often create the opportunity to discover something new and exciting. Unfortunately, the anxiety you experience during these times makes those opportunities hard to spot, dive into, or enjoy. You’re just too busy trying to hide.

What do you need to say to yourself to help you in acknowledging and alleviating your feelings of uncertainty?

Five of Hearts – You need to hear (especially from yourself) that you’re doing a good job. It may not feel like it at the time, but you’re doing a good job and you’re going to get through this just fine.

What do you need to accept about others to help you in acknowledging and alleviating your feelings of uncertainty?

Seven of Diamonds – They’ll come around eventually. You just have to have the patience to wait for them to catch up.

Focus on your feelings of uncertainty. Pick a color that stands out strongest in the card you’ve pulled. How does this color (and how it’s used in the card) make you feel?

Red in the Jack of Diamonds – Defensive. It looks like the little chick is trying to defend itself from outside forces… and the only outside forces in this card are the red ones. This rings true to how you try to retreat during uncertainty, because a lot of that retreat has to do with trying to protect yourself from the sharp edges of the outside world during a time when you are feeling vulnerable.

Other elements included in this reading:
Lemon Quartz Bowl for Filtering Out Distractions
Fuchsia Flowers for Stability in the Face of External Disruption
Rose Quartz for Gentle Kindness to Self and Others
Clear Quartz for a boost of Intentional Energies
Selenite for Purification and drawing in Positive Energy

DECK USED: QUACK DECK

Daily Self Kindness

I took it easy today and worked at doing just little things around the house today instead of anything pressing or major.